Filmmaking workshop organised at SZABIST

Karachi: The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) recently organised a 16mm film workshop in collaboration with an internationally acclaimed film manufacturing company. A total of 20 students from the media sciences stream combined their talents to shoot short films of one to two minutes each without sound on super 16mm (colour) format.

The two-day workshop kicked off with a two-hour session on ARRI SR 3 cameras and accessories. Renowned cinematographer Saleem Dad gave a multimedia presentation on cameras, lenses, film stocks and light meter readings. After the presentation, students started their two-day shooting workshop in which all of them ended up making short films of their own.

Film processing and telecine (film to digital transfer) were sponsored by a local film development company, making it a viable option for film students in Karachi. The cost of telecine is always heavy and by funding student projects like these, private film manufacturing companies in Karachi are taking keen interest in facilitating film students which can in turn, prove beneficial for the film industry in the near future.

Training on film format also helps in economising narrative elements of a film. Being the most expensive medium, students like to devote more time in prep work as opposed to its counterpart ‘Digital’ where no such consideration and heed is paid and ultimately students fail to grasp the effectiveness of storytelling skills which is an essential part of any film, students were told at the workshop.
Source: The News
Date:7/21/2009